What's New - Audubon Society of Kalamazoo

Home Page Upcoming Events Membership Form Local Birding Spots What's New Kalamazoo Junior Audubon Contact Information Visit us on Facebook:	RESULTS OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY OF KALAMAZOO'S GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) led by the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo was held at the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery on Saturday February 19, 2012. Thirteen people braved the cold north wind to find out what birds were on the grounds of the hatchery and their efforts were rewarded with 442 birds representing 27 different species! Here is the breakdown; Canada Goose - 228, Cackling/Canada Goose - 1, Mute Swan - 15, Trumpeter Swan - 4, Tundra Swan - 9, Gadwall - 59, American Wigeon - 2, Mallard - 18, Ring-necked Duck - 1, Bufflehead - 10, Common Goldeneye - 22, Great Blue Heron - 2, American Coot - 3, Sandhill Crane - 2, Killdeer - 1, Belted Kingfisher - 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1, Downy Woodpecker - 1, Northern Flicker - 1, Pileated Woodpecker - 1, Blue Jay - 2, American Crow - 31, Black-capped Chickadee - 5, Tufted Titmouse - 1, American Tree Sparrow - 16, Song Sparrow - 2, Northern Cardinal - 2. ARTIST NEEDS KICKSTART TO FINISH OSPREY DOCUMENTARY Matt Clysdale, the film-maker who brought you the urban wildlife documentary, ANIMALS AMONG US, is at it again. This time he’s documenting a nesting pair of Osprey on the Kalamazoo River who’ve become a popular local attraction as well as symbols for the returning health of the river. Their nest in the abandoned lot of a former paper mill on Kings Highway, right next to a Superfund stretch of the Kalamazoo River, and directly across from a PCB landfill, is a poignant commentary on the relationship of fish eating raptors and the contaminated Kalamazoo River. Clysdale began taping last year when the birds hatched and fledged three healthy chicks. Titled WHEN HOPE HATCHES, the project is well under way and in need of funding. That’s why Clysdale is turning to a rising new internet phenomena called Kickstarter. “I’m particularly excited about Kickstarter because it makes the documentary more of a community effort, with more interest and anticipation surrounding the project,” says Clysdale. The website Kickstarter gives artists and entrepreneurs an online fundraising platform to complete original, creative projects. At Kickstarter he’ll have his own webpage with a sneak preview video, information on the project, pledge categories, and particularly important to contributors: interesting pledge rewards. The fundraiser, and corresponding webpage, launches Feb. 10th and runs through March 1st. Clysdale and his team will host a “HOPE HATCHES” pledge party open to the public at the Kalamazoo Nature Center on Sunday, February 26th, from 2-4pm. They'll familiarize guests with the project, explain Kickstarter, and have a computer available for online pledges. People can also go to www.mattclysdale.com for more information. ASK AND THE INTERNET ASK has been slowly but surely moving into the electronic communications world. But don’t worry, we won’t do away with the hard copy of the newsletter. So where have we been and where are we going? Our first attempt at a web page was about 15 years ago, but it was not until seven years ago that we got our own URL (www.kalamazooaudubon.org). The next step was to modernize our Rare Bird Alert system of four or five captains who called five to seven people each whenever a rare bird had been seen in the greater Kalamazoo area. Now we have one person, with a 2nd person as backup, who sends out one e-mail to about 60 members. What a time savings! Then we wondered if people might like to receive reminders of field trips by e-mail. We put an article in the newsletter about it and announced it at meetings and we now send reminders to just under 60 members. Next one of our members came up with the idea of the ASKBirds Google Discussion Group (http://groups.google.com/group/ASKbirds?hl=en), again only for ASK members. Recently we registered our 25th ASKBirds discussion group member! And now Facebook – see accompanying article below. ASK ON FACEBOOK ASK is jumping into the 21^st century and exploring social networking to find new ways to reach out to our members, supporters, and the general public. We now have a Facebook page that we invite you to visit to keep up to date with Audubon happenings. The ASK Facebook page is accessible to the general public (unlike our ASKBirds discussion group that is for members only). We’ll be posting things like notices of upcoming programs and field trips, sightings, and other interesting bird news. We invite you to post bird-related thoughts and questions too! If you’re a Facebook member, simply search for “Audubon Society of Kalamazoo” in the search bar at the top of your Facebook page. Or you can also go to www.kalamazooaudubon.org and click on the link at the left side of that page. When you’ve navigated to our Facebook page, click the “like” button at the top of the page. Once you’ve “liked” us, our posts will show up on your wall. If you’re not a Facebook member but would still like to see our postings, you can do so by clicking the Facebook link from our website at www.kalamazooaudubon.org. See you online! MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL ASK has its yearly membership renewal drive in August, just before our new season of activities starts in September. Since one bulk mailing is so much cheaper than mailing individual first class notices each month, all members except those who joined April to July 2009 will need to renew this fall. This means that some of you will not have been members for a full year before renewing, but our bulk mailing rates allow us to keep our membership fees of $10 for adults and $5 for students so reasonable. And it's only the first year that you may get short-changed a few months. If you have misplaced your membership brochure or would like one for a friend see the link for membership on this web page. ASK SUPPORTS SAUGATUCK HARBOR NATURAL AREA On December 22, 2009, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan (LCWM) closed on the 171-acre south portion of the McClendon property (formerly known as the Denison property) adjacent to Saugatuck’s Oval Beach City Park. This is a major milestone in the decades-long effort to protect this critical stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline. The next steps will be to raise funds from the public to pay back bridge loans and create an endowment for the care of the property. The total cost of the project will reach approximately $22.1 million when associated transactional and management costs are included, with approximately $4.5 million that still needs to be raised from the public. The City of Saugatuck will lease the property, now known as the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area, from LCWM for $1 per year while the property is transferred to the City over a three-year period as the remaining funding to support the purchase is raised. With the completion of the closing, the property is now open to the public for non-motorized recreation such as hiking, bird watching, fishing, nature study, and photography. Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area is part of the world’s largest freshwater dune system, providing habitat for rare and declining species. This stretch of Lake Michigan beach and dunes serves as a prime example of Michigan’s characteristic Great Lakes shoreline. Since the Lake Michigan shoreline is such an important area for both breeding and migrant birds, the ASK board decided to support the purchase with a $1,000 donation toward that $4.5 million still needed. We plan to have a field trip in September so you can see for yourselves this gem of Southwest Michigan’s natural heritage. See their website at http://www.naturenearby.org for more information. WHY BUY A DUCK STAMP? Since 1934, sales of Migratory Bird Hunting and Conser-vation Stamps have contributed over $700 million and protected 5.3 million acres of habitat in our national refuge system. Each refuge is managed as a protected haven for birds and other wildlife. The Stamps cost only $15 and it’s easy for everyone to purchase – nearly all Post Offices carry them. Even better, it is extremely cost-effective: fully 98¢ out of every dollar ($14.70) goes directly to acquire land for the refuge system. This $15-purchase is perhaps the single simplest thing one can do to support a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds. The funds not only go to refuges, but since 1958, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has used a portion of the Stamp revenues to purchase wetland and grassland habitats within the Prairie Pothole Region of the upper Midwest and northern Great Plains through their Small Wetlands Acquisition Program. The FWS also began purchasing permanent grassland easements to conserve existing habitat for prairie nesting birds. Scores of other bird species (numerous kinds of shorebirds, long-legged waders, and wetland and grassland songbirds) are dependent on habitat derived from Stamp purchases. Reptiles, amphib-ians, fish, and butterflies, all flourish through Stamp investments. Water quality is also strengthened. A Stamp is a “free pass” for an entire year for a vehicle full of people at all refuges that charge for admission. Refuges and percentage paid for by Stamp purchases: Bosque del Apache in New Mexico–99.2%; Horicon in Wisconsin–98.7%; Muskatatuk in Indiana–98.9%; Bom-bay Hook in Delaware–95.1%; Santa Ana in Texas–94.9%; Ottawa in Ohio–86.4%; and 99.8% of all Water-fowl Production Areas in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana. PARTICIPATE IN PROJECT FEEDERWATCH The 2009-10 season of Project FeederWatch began November 14, but you can sign up at any time. FeederWatchers keep track of their birds through the winter and report their tallies bi-weekly, either electronically, via the secure website, or through the mail, using paper forms. More participants are still needed. Watching birds benefits science, but it can also be a healthy part of your routine. Hundreds of studies have verified that time spent watching nature can reduce stress. So why not slow down and watch the birds? Or if you end up getting bored during the winter when you’re inside so much, keep yourself entertained by watching and counting the birds for science. This would also be a great project to do with your kids. New this year is an optional supplemental study to count males and females separately for some species that visit feeders – something that regular FeederWatch counting does not do. Visit the Project FeederWatch website to learn more and to sign up at www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw. You can also view a live FeederCam. New participants receive a kit with a handbook, bird identification poster, calendar, tally sheet, and instruction booklet. There is a $15 fee ($12 for Lab members). EVERYDAY PRODUCTS CARRY A HIDDEN GLOBAL COST A water footprint is the total volume of fresh water used to produce a certain good. Many people live in dry regions that cannot support the production of goods requiring a lot of water, so they effectively consume water in the form of imported goods. The water footprint of a cup of coffee is 140 L (L = liter, 1 liter = 1.06 quarts), an apple is 70 L, a cotton shirt is 2,700 L, one kg of beef is 15,500 L, etc. The amount of fresh water that a person needs daily for drinking, cooking, and cleaning is between 20 and 50 L, according to the United Nations. More than one in six people worldwide, or 1.1 billion, do not have access to even that amount of fresh water. Check out the website www.waterfootprint.org for more information. DNR LICENSED BIRD REHABILITATORS Below is a listing of licensed rehabilitators in the Kalamazoo area. If you have an injured animal, check to see what the rehabber will care for and call them directly. If you live outside the area and have web access you can go to the Michigan DNR website which lists all rehabilitators in the state, www.michigandnr.com/dlr/. Kalamazoo: Karen Amsbury, (269) 345-8569, Northwest Kalamazoo County, birds (any kind) and mammals Vicksburg: Sharron Butler, (269) 649-2028, South Kala-mazoo County, raptors, mammals, and turtles Hickory Corners: Linda Bianco-Born, (269) 671-5690, birds (specializes in raptors), mammals Vicksburg: Pamela DeCuypere, (269) 778-3774, mammals (specializes in raccoons, deer, and rabbits) and gamebirds Kalamazoo: Sara Harrison (269) 372-9080, mammals and reptiles Kalamazoo: Mary Hilton, (269) 375-4875, small mammals and gamebirds Kalamazoo: Lori King, (269) 383-5934, mammals Kalamazoo: Judith Kleis (269) 552-2305, mammals Vicksburg: Tamie Stewart, (269) 649-3555, mammals DID YOUR SHOPPING LIST KILL A SONGBIRD? By Bridget Stutchbury Though a consumer may not be able to tell the difference, a tomato from Florida is often not the same as one grown in Mexico. The imported fruits and vegetables found in our shopping carts in winter and early spring are grown with types and amounts of pesticides that would often be illegal in the US. In this case, the victims are North American songbirds. Bobolinks, called skunk blackbirds in some places, were once a common sight in the Eastern US. In mating season, the male in his handsome tuxedo-like suit sings deliriously as he whirrs madly over the hayfields. Bobolink numbers have plummeted almost 50% in the last four decades, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The birds are being poisoned on their wintering grounds by highly toxic pesticides. Rosalind Renfrew, a biologist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, captured bobolinks feeding in rice fields in Bolivia and took samples of their blood to test for pesticide exposure. She found that about half of the birds had drastically reduced levels of cholinesterase, an enzyme that affects brain and nerve cells-a sign of exposure to toxic chemicals. Since the 1980s, pesticide use has increased fivefold in Latin America as countries have expanded their production of nontraditional crops to fuel the demand for fresh produce during winter in North America and Europe. What should you put on your bird-friendly grocery list? Organic coffee, for one thing. Organic bananas should also be on your list. Bananas are typically grown with one of the highest pesticide loads of any tropical crop. Although bananas present little risk of pesticide ingestion to the consumer, the environment where they are grown is heavily contaminated. When it comes to nontraditional Latin American crops like melons, green beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and strawberries, it can be difficult to find any that are organically grown. We should buy these foods only if they are not imported from Latin America. Distilled from an article published in The New York Times, March 30, 2008. SHOP SMART, SAVE BIRDS Natural Resources Defense Council: A Shopper's Guide to Home Tissue Products Canada's boreal forest is one of the largest unspoiled forests left on earth. It provides breeding grounds for up to three billion birds each spring, and nearly half of all the bird species in North America depend on the boreal for survival. Boreal bird habitat is being destroyed to make toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels, and other disposable paper products. You can help halt this destruction by making smart shopping decisions. This green guide provides a list of tissue paper products to buy - and a few to avoid. Visit www.nrdc.org/paper for a full product list and to send a message to paper giant Kimberly-Clark, maker of Scott, Cottonelle, Kleenex, and Viva, telling the company to stop destroying boreal bird habitat. Three things you can do to help save our forests and birds: 1. Buy paper products with recycled content - especially post-consumer fibers. Look for products that have a high recycled content, including high post-consumer content. Post-consumer fibers are recovered from paper that was previously used by consumers and would otherwise have been dumped into a landfill or an incinerator. 2. Buy paper products made with clean, safe processes. Paper products are bleached to make them whiter and brighter, but chlorine used in many bleaching processes contributes to the formation of harmful chemicals that wind up in our air and water and are highly toxic to people and fish. Look for products labeled totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free (PCF). In some cases, elemental chlorine-free (ECF) may be acceptable. 3. Tell tissue manufacturers to stop using virgin wood for throwaway products. If a brand you buy doesn't have any recycled content, contact the manufacturer. Tell the company to use more recycled fibers, to avoid sourcing from ecologically valuable forests such as those in the Cumberland Plateau and Canadian Boreal, and to ensure any virgin fibers used are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Saving forests also helps reduced global warming pollution. Here is a list of products that meet NRDC's environmental criteria: Facial tissue: Fluff Out, Hankies, Marcal, Seventh Generation Toilet paper: 365 (Whole Foods), Ambiance, April Soft, Best Value, Earth First, Fiesta, Marcal, Pert, Planet, Seventh Generation Paper towels: 365 (Whole Foods), Atlantic, Best Value, Earth First, Fiesta, Marcal, Pert, Planet, Seventh Generation Paper napkins: 365 (Whole Foods), Bella, Earth First, Marcal, Seventh Generation Products to avoid: Bounty, Charmin, Cottonelle, Kleenex, Puffs, Scott, Viva Reprinted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. NRDC does not endorse any products. Follow-up - Products available locally include the following: Seventh Generation: D&W (Parkview & Oakland), Hardings (W. Main & Drake), Natural Health Food Center, People's Food Coop, Sawall Health Foods Green Forest (Planet): Hardings (D Avenue, Richland; S. Westnedge; W. Main & Drake) Not all products are available at all locations. This is not an all-inclusive list but only a sampling. CATS INDOORS: GOOD FOR BIRDS, GOOD FOR CATS ASK invites you to join us in our effort to keep both cats and wild birds safe. Over the next few months, we'll be distributing brochures to area pet stores, veterinarians, and shelters that encourage people to keep their cats indoors. We could use your help! We'll have "Cats Indoors!" brochures available at our meetings for you to pick up and take to your vet or pet store. Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds and other small animals each year. These cats are also susceptible to injury, disease, parasites, or becoming lost, stolen, or poisoned. Cats that are kept indoors pose no threat to wildlife and face less risk of injury and disease. The American Bird Conservancy began the "Cats Indoors!" campaign in 1997 to educate cat owners and the general public. A wealth of information is available on their website, www.abcbirds.org/cats/. There you can learn how to slowly adapt your older cat to an indoor lifestyle, how to leash-train your cat, or get detailed information on the effect of outdoor cats on small animals. Please consider helping us in this campaign to keep birds and cats safe and healthy. BIRD FRIENDLY COFFEE By Russ Schipper As far as coffee refreshments go at ASK meetings, an apt description could be wrapped in a single word, “decaf,” and our wise and responsible Hospitality Committee reliably has good decaf coffee available. Now that coffee has gotten even better. For the past 10 years we have tried to offer a good shade-grown, fair-traded, and organic coffee, decaf of course. While there are a great number of companies offering coffee that they claim to be shade-grown and good for birds, there are a much smaller number of firms that actually meet the strictest criteria for shade-grown coffee. Please note that if you happen to be new to the “shade-grown coffee issue,” there are background articles available at our meetings; see me at the information table. The organization that offers the gold standard for shade-grown coffee certification is the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Their trademarked “Bird Friendly” coffee essentially requires the growers to have their farms almost mimic native forest. A few of the requirements the growers must meet are to have at least 10 species of trees of many different heights, to have at least 40% shade cover, to have more than a 10-meter buffer along waterways, to meet USDA Organic standards, and naturally it must be a fair-trade coffee where workers have a good working environment and are paid a fair wage. So you can rest assured that any coffee that has the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s “Bird Friendly” label is truly the best for birds, people, and the environment. For years I have looked, without success, for a company that offered a decaf coffee that met the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s criteria. But just recently Kara Haas, Environmental Education Director at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, mentioned that Birds & Beans has a decaf with the Smithsonian’s “Bird Friendly” designation, AND, on top of that, she said they sell it at the sanctuary. They are doing the right thing. Consequently, as of the January meeting, ASK is serving the very best, very bird-friendliest coffee. Do come and try it out! I certainly encourage all of you who want to do something for birds to purchase coffee with the Smithsonian’s “Bird Friendly” label. More information is available on the internet. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center website address is http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/Migratory Birds/. The website address for Birds & Beans is http://www.birdsandbeans.com/index.html. COFFEE BUYING GUIDE By Russ Schipper This information is from Tom Dietsch. Tom was one of the graduate students whose research in Central American coffee plantations was supported by ASK several years ago. He is still very much involved in the shade coffee issue. I saw him recently and he explained that the issue of good organic shade-grown coffee is still very relevant but admittedly complicated. The following guidelines that he has drawn up may help you when you are deciding which is the right shade-grown coffee to buy. I strongly encourage you to be careful in your choice of "shade-grown" coffee. The imposters will be helping themselves with, I believe, little interest in what organic shade-grown coffee can do for birds and people. By imposters I am referring to the coffee that has no or very soft criteria. It is complicated, but if you want the best, look only for the logos on Tom's lists. COFFEE BUYING GUIDE o If possible, buy triple certified coffee. o Buy certified coffee o Avoid mislabeled coffees. o Support cause-related coffees but encourage them to be certified. o Ask questions! o Find a good (certified) coffee you like, but experiment with different roasts and coffees from different countries. o Look for similar efforts in other products, like tea and chocolate. : COFFEE LINKS Shade-grown Coffee o Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/ o Seattle Audubon: www.shadecoffee.org Fair-trade Coffee o www.fairtrade.net o www.transfairusa.org o www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/campaigns/coffee o www.globalexchange.org Cause-related Coffee o www.coffeekids.org Prepared by: Tom Dietsch, UCLA Center for Tropical Research (and formerly of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center)

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) led by the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo was held at the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery on Saturday February 19, 2012. Thirteen people braved the cold north wind to find out what birds were on the grounds of the hatchery and their efforts were rewarded with 442 birds representing 27 different species! Here is the breakdown; Canada Goose - 228, Cackling/Canada Goose - 1, Mute Swan - 15, Trumpeter Swan - 4, Tundra Swan - 9, Gadwall - 59, American Wigeon - 2, Mallard - 18, Ring-necked Duck - 1, Bufflehead - 10, Common Goldeneye - 22, Great Blue Heron - 2, American Coot - 3, Sandhill Crane - 2, Killdeer - 1, Belted Kingfisher - 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1, Downy Woodpecker - 1, Northern Flicker - 1, Pileated Woodpecker - 1, Blue Jay - 2, American Crow - 31, Black-capped Chickadee - 5, Tufted Titmouse - 1, American Tree Sparrow - 16, Song Sparrow - 2, Northern Cardinal - 2.

Matt Clysdale, the film-maker who brought you the urban wildlife documentary, ANIMALS AMONG US, is at it again. This time he’s documenting a nesting pair of Osprey on the Kalamazoo River who’ve become a popular local attraction as well as symbols for the returning health of the river. Their nest in the abandoned lot of a former paper mill on Kings Highway, right next to a Superfund stretch of the Kalamazoo River, and directly across from a PCB landfill, is a poignant commentary on the relationship of fish eating raptors and the contaminated Kalamazoo River.

Clysdale began taping last year when the birds hatched and fledged three healthy chicks. Titled WHEN HOPE HATCHES, the project is well under way and in need of funding. That’s why Clysdale is turning to a rising new internet phenomena called Kickstarter.

“I’m particularly excited about Kickstarter because it makes the documentary more of a community effort, with more interest and anticipation surrounding the project,” says Clysdale. The website Kickstarter gives artists and entrepreneurs an online fundraising platform to complete original, creative projects. At Kickstarter he’ll have his own webpage with a sneak preview video, information on the project, pledge categories, and particularly important to contributors: interesting pledge rewards. The fundraiser, and corresponding webpage, launches Feb. 10th and runs through March 1st.

Clysdale and his team will host a “HOPE HATCHES” pledge party open to the public at the Kalamazoo Nature Center on Sunday, February 26th, from 2-4pm. They'll familiarize guests with the project, explain Kickstarter, and have a computer available for online pledges. People can also go to www.mattclysdale.com for more information.

ASK has been slowly but surely moving into the electronic communications world. But don’t worry, we won’t do away with the hard copy of the newsletter.

Our first attempt at a web page was about 15 years ago, but it was not until seven years ago that we got our own URL (www.kalamazooaudubon.org).

The next step was to modernize our Rare Bird Alert system of four or five captains who called five to seven people each whenever a rare bird had been seen in the greater Kalamazoo area. Now we have one person, with a 2nd person as backup, who sends out one e-mail to about 60 members. What a time savings!

Then we wondered if people might like to receive reminders of field trips by e-mail. We put an article in the newsletter about it and announced it at meetings and we now send reminders to just under 60 members.

Next one of our members came up with the idea of the ASKBirds Google Discussion Group (http://groups.google.com/group/ASKbirds?hl=en), again only for ASK members. Recently we registered our 25th ASKBirds discussion group member!

ASK is jumping into the 21^st century and exploring social networking to find new ways to reach out to our members, supporters, and the general public. We now have a Facebook page that we invite you to visit to keep up to date with Audubon happenings.

The ASK Facebook page is accessible to the general public (unlike our ASKBirds discussion group that is for members only). We’ll be posting things like notices of upcoming programs and field trips, sightings, and other interesting bird news. We invite you to post bird-related thoughts and questions too!

If you’re a Facebook member, simply search for “Audubon Society of Kalamazoo” in the search bar at the top of your Facebook page. Or you can also go to www.kalamazooaudubon.org and click on the link at the left side of that page. When you’ve navigated to our Facebook page, click the “like” button at the top of the page. Once you’ve “liked” us, our posts will show up on your wall.

If you’re not a Facebook member but would still like to see our postings, you can do so by clicking the Facebook link from our website at www.kalamazooaudubon.org.

ASK has its yearly membership renewal drive in August, just before our new season of activities starts in September. Since one bulk mailing is so much cheaper than mailing individual first class notices each month, all members except those who joined April to July 2009 will need to renew this fall. This means that some of you will not have been members for a full year before renewing, but our bulk mailing rates allow us to keep our membership fees of $10 for adults and $5 for students so reasonable. And it's only the first year that you may get short-changed a few months.
If you have misplaced your membership brochure or would like one for a friend see the link for membership on this web page.

On December 22, 2009, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan (LCWM) closed on the 171-acre south portion of the McClendon property (formerly known as the Denison property) adjacent to Saugatuck’s Oval Beach City Park. This is a major milestone in the decades-long effort to protect this critical stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline.

The next steps will be to raise funds from the public to pay back bridge loans and create an endowment for the care of the property. The total cost of the project will reach approximately $22.1 million when associated transactional and management costs are included, with approximately $4.5 million that still needs to be raised from the public.

The City of Saugatuck will lease the property, now known as the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area, from LCWM for $1 per year while the property is transferred to the City over a three-year period as the remaining funding to support the purchase is raised.

With the completion of the closing, the property is now open to the public for non-motorized recreation such as hiking, bird watching, fishing, nature study, and photography. Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area is part of the world’s largest freshwater dune system, providing habitat for rare and declining species. This stretch of Lake Michigan beach and dunes serves as a prime example of Michigan’s characteristic Great Lakes shoreline.

Since the Lake Michigan shoreline is such an important area for both breeding and migrant birds, the ASK board decided to support the purchase with a $1,000 donation toward that $4.5 million still needed. We plan to have a field trip in September so you can see for yourselves this gem of Southwest Michigan’s natural heritage.

See their website at http://www.naturenearby.org for more information.

WHY BUY A DUCK STAMP?

Since 1934, sales of Migratory Bird Hunting and Conser-vation Stamps have contributed over $700 million and protected 5.3 million acres of habitat in our national refuge system. Each refuge is managed as a protected haven for birds and other wildlife. The Stamps cost only $15 and it’s easy for everyone to purchase – nearly all Post Offices carry them. Even better, it is extremely cost-effective: fully 98¢ out of every dollar ($14.70) goes directly to acquire land for the refuge system. This $15-purchase is perhaps the single simplest thing one can do to support a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds. The funds not only go to refuges, but since 1958, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has used a portion of the Stamp revenues to purchase wetland and grassland habitats within the Prairie Pothole Region of the upper Midwest and northern Great Plains through their Small Wetlands Acquisition Program. The FWS also began purchasing permanent grassland easements to conserve existing habitat for prairie nesting birds. Scores of other bird species (numerous kinds of shorebirds, long-legged waders, and wetland and grassland songbirds) are dependent on habitat derived from Stamp purchases. Reptiles, amphib-ians, fish, and butterflies, all flourish through Stamp investments. Water quality is also strengthened. A Stamp is a “free pass” for an entire year for a vehicle full of people at all refuges that charge for admission.

Refuges and percentage paid for by Stamp purchases: Bosque del Apache in New Mexico–99.2%; Horicon in Wisconsin–98.7%; Muskatatuk in Indiana–98.9%; Bom-bay Hook in Delaware–95.1%; Santa Ana in Texas–94.9%; Ottawa in Ohio–86.4%; and 99.8% of all Water-fowl Production Areas in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.

The 2009-10 season of Project FeederWatch began November 14, but you can sign up at any time. FeederWatchers keep track of their birds through the winter and report their tallies bi-weekly, either electronically, via the secure website, or through the mail, using paper forms. More participants are still needed.

Watching birds benefits science, but it can also be a healthy part of your routine. Hundreds of studies have verified that time spent watching nature can reduce stress. So why not slow down and watch the birds? Or if you end up getting bored during the winter when you’re inside so much, keep yourself entertained by watching and counting the birds for science. This would also be a great project to do with your kids.

New this year is an optional supplemental study to count males and females separately for some species that visit feeders – something that regular FeederWatch counting does not do.

Visit the Project FeederWatch website to learn more and to sign up at www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw. You can also view a live FeederCam. New participants receive a kit with a handbook, bird identification poster, calendar, tally sheet, and instruction booklet. There is a $15 fee ($12 for Lab members).

A water footprint is the total volume of fresh water used to produce a certain good. Many people live in dry regions that cannot support the production of goods requiring a lot of water, so they effectively consume water in the form of imported goods. The water footprint of a cup of coffee is 140 L (L = liter, 1 liter = 1.06 quarts), an apple is 70 L, a cotton shirt is 2,700 L, one kg of beef is 15,500 L, etc. The amount of fresh water that a person needs daily for drinking, cooking, and cleaning is between 20 and 50 L, according to the United Nations. More than one in six people worldwide, or 1.1 billion, do not have access to even that amount of fresh water. Check out the website www.waterfootprint.org for more information.

Below is a listing of licensed rehabilitators in the Kalamazoo area. If you have an injured animal, check to see what the rehabber will care for and call them directly. If you live outside the area and have web access you can go to the Michigan DNR website which lists all rehabilitators in the state, www.michigandnr.com/dlr/.

Kalamazoo: Karen Amsbury, (269) 345-8569, Northwest Kalamazoo County, birds (any kind) and mammals

Vicksburg: Sharron Butler, (269) 649-2028, South Kala-mazoo County, raptors, mammals, and turtles

Hickory Corners: Linda Bianco-Born, (269) 671-5690, birds (specializes in raptors), mammals

Vicksburg: Pamela DeCuypere, (269) 778-3774, mammals (specializes in raccoons, deer, and rabbits) and gamebirds

Though a consumer may not be able to tell the difference, a tomato from Florida is often not the same as one grown in Mexico. The imported fruits and vegetables found in our shopping carts in winter and early spring are grown with types and amounts of pesticides that would often be illegal in the US.
In this case, the victims are North American songbirds. Bobolinks, called skunk blackbirds in some places, were once a common sight in the Eastern US. In mating season, the male in his handsome tuxedo-like suit sings deliriously as he whirrs madly over the hayfields. Bobolink numbers have plummeted almost 50% in the last four decades, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.
The birds are being poisoned on their wintering grounds by highly toxic pesticides. Rosalind Renfrew, a biologist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, captured bobolinks feeding in rice fields in Bolivia and took samples of their blood to test for pesticide exposure. She found that about half of the birds had drastically reduced levels of cholinesterase, an enzyme that affects brain and nerve cells-a sign of exposure to toxic chemicals. Since the 1980s, pesticide use has increased fivefold in Latin America as countries have expanded their production of nontraditional crops to fuel the demand for fresh produce during winter in North America and Europe.
What should you put on your bird-friendly grocery list? Organic coffee, for one thing. Organic bananas should also be on your list. Bananas are typically grown with one of the highest pesticide loads of any tropical crop. Although bananas present little risk of pesticide ingestion to the consumer, the environment where they are grown is heavily contaminated. When it comes to nontraditional Latin American crops like melons, green beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and strawberries, it can be difficult to find any that are organically grown. We should buy these foods only if they are not imported from Latin America.

SHOP SMART, SAVE BIRDS
Natural Resources Defense Council: A Shopper's Guide to Home Tissue Products

Canada's boreal forest is one of the largest unspoiled forests left on earth. It provides breeding grounds for up to three billion birds each spring, and nearly half of all the bird species in North America depend on the boreal for survival. Boreal bird habitat is being destroyed to make toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels, and other disposable paper products. You can help halt this destruction by making smart shopping decisions. This green guide provides a list of tissue paper products to buy - and a few to avoid. Visit www.nrdc.org/paper for a full product list and to send a message to paper giant Kimberly-Clark, maker of Scott, Cottonelle, Kleenex, and Viva, telling the company to stop destroying boreal bird habitat.

Three things you can do to help save our forests and birds:
1. Buy paper products with recycled content - especially post-consumer fibers. Look for products that have a high recycled content, including high post-consumer content. Post-consumer fibers are recovered from paper that was previously used by consumers and would otherwise have been dumped into a landfill or an incinerator.
2. Buy paper products made with clean, safe processes. Paper products are bleached to make them whiter and brighter, but chlorine used in many bleaching processes contributes to the formation of harmful chemicals that wind up in our air and water and are highly toxic to people and fish. Look for products labeled totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free (PCF). In some cases, elemental chlorine-free (ECF) may be acceptable.
3. Tell tissue manufacturers to stop using virgin wood for throwaway products. If a brand you buy doesn't have any recycled content, contact the manufacturer. Tell the company to use more recycled fibers, to avoid sourcing from ecologically valuable forests such as those in the Cumberland Plateau and Canadian Boreal, and to ensure any virgin fibers used are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Saving forests also helps reduced global warming pollution.

Here is a list of products that meet NRDC's environmental criteria:
Facial tissue: Fluff Out, Hankies, Marcal, Seventh Generation
Toilet paper: 365 (Whole Foods), Ambiance, April Soft, Best Value, Earth First, Fiesta, Marcal, Pert, Planet, Seventh Generation
Paper towels: 365 (Whole Foods), Atlantic, Best Value, Earth First, Fiesta, Marcal, Pert, Planet, Seventh Generation
Paper napkins: 365 (Whole Foods), Bella, Earth First, Marcal, Seventh Generation

Reprinted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. NRDC does not endorse any products.

Follow-up - Products available locally include the following:
Seventh Generation: D&W (Parkview & Oakland), Hardings (W. Main & Drake), Natural Health Food Center, People's Food Coop, Sawall Health Foods
Green Forest (Planet): Hardings (D Avenue, Richland; S. Westnedge; W. Main & Drake)

Not all products are available at all locations. This is not an all-inclusive list but only a sampling.

ASK invites you to join us in our effort to keep both cats and wild birds safe. Over the next few months, we'll be distributing brochures to area pet stores, veterinarians, and shelters that encourage people to keep their cats indoors. We could use your help! We'll have "Cats Indoors!" brochures available at our meetings for you to pick up and take to your vet or pet store.
Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds and other small animals each year. These cats are also susceptible to injury, disease, parasites, or becoming lost, stolen, or poisoned. Cats that are kept indoors pose no threat to wildlife and face less risk of injury and disease.
The American Bird Conservancy began the "Cats Indoors!" campaign in 1997 to educate cat owners and the general public. A wealth of information is available on their website, www.abcbirds.org/cats/. There you can learn how to slowly adapt your older cat to an indoor lifestyle, how to leash-train your cat, or get detailed information on the effect of outdoor cats on small animals.
Please consider helping us in this campaign to keep birds and cats safe and healthy.

As far as coffee refreshments go at ASK meetings, an apt description could be wrapped in a single word, “decaf,” and our wise and responsible Hospitality Committee reliably has good decaf coffee available. Now that coffee has gotten even better. For the past 10 years we have tried to offer a good shade-grown, fair-traded, and organic coffee, decaf of course. While there are a great number of companies offering coffee that they claim to be shade-grown and good for birds, there are a much smaller number of firms that actually meet the strictest criteria for shade-grown coffee. Please note that if you happen to be new to the “shade-grown coffee issue,” there are background articles available at our meetings; see me at the information table.

The organization that offers the gold standard for shade-grown coffee certification is the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Their trademarked “Bird Friendly” coffee essentially requires the growers to have their farms almost mimic native forest. A few of the requirements the growers must meet are to have at least 10 species of trees of many different heights, to have at least 40% shade cover, to have more than a 10-meter buffer along waterways, to meet USDA Organic standards, and naturally it must be a fair-trade coffee where workers have a good working environment and are paid a fair wage. So you can rest assured that any coffee that has the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s “Bird Friendly” label is truly the best for birds, people, and the environment.

For years I have looked, without success, for a company that offered a decaf coffee that met the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s criteria. But just recently Kara Haas, Environmental Education Director at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, mentioned that Birds & Beans has a decaf with the Smithsonian’s “Bird Friendly” designation, AND, on top of that, she said they sell it at the sanctuary. They are doing the right thing. Consequently, as of the January meeting, ASK is serving the very best, very bird-friendliest coffee. Do come and try it out!

I certainly encourage all of you who want to do something for birds to purchase coffee with the Smithsonian’s “Bird Friendly” label. More information is available on the internet. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center website address is http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/Migratory Birds/. The website address for Birds & Beans is http://www.birdsandbeans.com/index.html.

This information is from Tom Dietsch. Tom was one of the graduate students whose research in Central American coffee plantations was supported by ASK several years ago. He is still very much involved in the shade coffee issue. I saw him recently and he explained that the issue of good organic shade-grown coffee is still very relevant but admittedly complicated. The following guidelines that he has drawn up may help you when you are deciding which is the right shade-grown coffee to buy. I strongly encourage you to be careful in your choice of "shade-grown" coffee. The imposters will be helping themselves with, I believe, little interest in what organic shade-grown coffee can do for birds and people. By imposters I am referring to the coffee that has no or very soft criteria. It is complicated, but if you want the best, look only for the logos on Tom's lists.

o If possible, buy triple certified coffee.
o Buy certified coffee
o Avoid mislabeled coffees.
o Support cause-related coffees but encourage them to be certified.
o Ask questions!
o Find a good (certified) coffee you like, but experiment with different roasts and coffees from different countries.
o Look for similar efforts in other products, like tea and chocolate. :

Shade-grown Coffee
o Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/
o Seattle Audubon: www.shadecoffee.org

Fair-trade Coffee
o www.fairtrade.net
o www.transfairusa.org
o www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/campaigns/coffee
o www.globalexchange.org

Prepared by: Tom Dietsch, UCLA Center for Tropical Research (and formerly of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center)